Abide with Me (25 page)

“Nicole, child, please lighten up. I have somebody and Devin is still just a chorus boy. I think we were both supplying our needs.”

“Just as long as you both are on the same page,” Nicole advised.

“Trust me, Nicole, we’re on the same page, singing the same song.”

On the day Jared was to arrive, Yancey had a surprise for Nicole. After their morning coffee and bagels, Yancey announced she had a day of beauty planned for the two of them as a way of celebrating her getting a little something-something from Devin and the arrival of Jared.

“Yancey, how much are you spending for this?” Nicole asked when they were greeted by a uniformed driver in the circle of the hotel driveway.

“Now, Nicole, being a good Southern girl, you know better than to ask someone how much a gift is costing. I just want you to be relaxed and looking beautiful when your husband arrives,” Yancey replied.

“You are too sweet, just like your coffee,” Nicole gushed. She was surprised and deeply touched by Yancey’s generosity.

After a short drive to Dearborn, a suburb of Detroit, Nicole and Yancey began their day of manicures, pedicures, seaweed facials, and a deep-tissue massage. They passed on the hairstyling when they didn’t
see any black faces at the posh day spa located at the equally posh Ritz Carlton Hotel.

“I haven’t been able to trust a white lady with my hair since the Miss America pageant,” Nicole said when both of them decided against getting their hair done.

“What happened?”

“Child, all my hair almost fell out after I got back from Atlantic City. This stylist permed my hair with some product I know hasn’t ever seen the insides of a black beauty salon. My hair came out in large clumps,” Nicole said.

“What did you do?”

“I bought me a wig and then I just cut it short. Thank God short hair ended up being popular that year!” Nicole laughed.

“So you were a trendsetter. Ahead of Halle Berry and Toni Braxton,” Yancey said.

“I guess so,” Nicole smiled. The mention of Toni Braxton reminded Nicole of two questions she had wanted to ask ever since meeting Yancey. Why didn’t she talk about her famous cousin more often? And was she ever coming to see the show? Nicole jumped at the opening.

“Yancey, do you talk to Toni often?”

“Toni who?”

“Your cousin, Miss Girl. The one with all the Grammys and that fabulous body,” Nicole added.

“Oh, you know how it is when people get famous … they suddenly don’t have time for the little people,” Yancey said as she hung her clothes in the maple locker provided by the spa. They put on thick white terry-cloth robes with cobalt-blue piping and walked to the nearby massage room for their first pampering treatment. Shortly after their massage started Nicole resumed the Braxton family conversation.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Nicole said.

“Sorry to hear what?” Yancey asked.

“You know, what you said about your cousin. Toni struck me as such a sweet person. She’s always talking about her family and what have you in the interviews I’ve read.”

“Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m just saying
I
don’t talk to her often. I’m sure she still talks with her immediate family on a daily basis,” Yancey said.

“That’s good to hear. Now, how are you girls related?” Nicole was still curious about the famous cousin, even if Yancey was out of the family loop. Yancey didn’t answer because she started coughing, her throat feeling scratchy and painful, then leaped from the table to get a glass of water. She moved so swiftly it startled the massage attendant and Nicole. A few minutes later she returned, hoping Nicole had finished her little examination of Yancey’s family tree.

“Are you all right?”

“Yes, I’m fine. I drank a little water and squeezed a little lemon into it and I feel wonderful. Let’s go and get our lunch, then talk about what you and Jared are going to do,” Yancey suggested.

“That sounds great. I can’t tell you how excited I am to see him, but I must confess I’m a little nervous,” Nicole said as the two of them walked toward the dining area. The hostess offered them a seat on the terrace, but not wanting to risk her voice to the early morning fall chill, Yancey pointed toward a small table in a secluded area. When they sat down, Yancey returned to their previous conversation.

“You said you were nervous about Jared’s visit. Why?”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong. I’m not nervous about seeing him. I can’t wait. But when I talked to Jared this morning, he said he had some exciting news. Now, with Jared that means one of two things,” Nicole sighed.

“What two things?”

“Either it has to do with his job, which means he’s gotten some kind of promotion that might mean leaving New York, or he’s unhappy
with his new boss and wants to go back to Atlanta,” Nicole said. “Or it could be the baby thing again. I don’t know if I told you, but one of the first things Jared did when we got to New York was look up all the adoption and surrogate agencies. But I just can’t get my hopes up again for a child.”

Yancey looked confused at the mention of the agencies, so Nicole explained that she had lost two babies to miscarriage and had explored the possibility of hiring a surrogate.

“Have you given up the hope of having your own child? I mean your doctor didn’t say it was impossible, did he?”

“No, he didn’t, but after my last miscarriage I don’t know if I could go through it again. And as much as Jared loves me and says he understands, I know how bad he wants a child.”

“The miscarriages must have been really difficult, huh?” Yancey asked softly.

Nicole was silent for a few moments as she looked off into space and recalled her last pregnancy. Her eyes welled with tears, but she felt comfortable sharing her tragedy with Yancey.

“The last time was pretty bad. It happened only after a couple of months. I was on my way to an audition for a limited run of a Pearl Cleage play at the Alliance. About a half mile from the theater I felt an awful pain and then I noticed a pool of blood in my car, all over this yellow cashmere sweaterdress Jared had given me. The amount of blood scared me so much that I wasn’t even thinking about my unborn child, but my own life. Later that evening in the hospital, with Jared holding my hands, I couldn’t help but think of my reaction,” Nicole said sadly.

“What reaction?”

“That I wasn’t really worried about the child. I mean even though I was only a couple of months pregnant, it was still a human being. I began to think the reason I haven’t been able to carry a child full-term was because subconsciously I’m not ready for a child.”

“Did you tell Jared that?”

“I couldn’t. But I often think about that day and how I felt. Especially when my mother and Jared and Jared’s mother speak of the children and grandchildren they are looking forward to.”

“What are you going to do?”

“About what?”

“I mean, are you on birth control?”

“Naw, I gave that stuff up. My mother has hinted that that might be the reason I’m having so many problems.”

“I’m not trying to get personal, but does Jared use protection?”

“No. And I must tell you, Yancey, sometimes I worry more now about getting pregnant than when I was in college and trying so hard to win Miss Arkansas and get to Broadway. What about you? You are using protection, aren’t you?”

“Honey, you betta believe it. Matter of fact, I made Devin put on two condoms the other night. I’m convinced he’s one hundred percent hetero, but I don’t need no little Devins or any STDs while I’m doing this show. Now, if it was some multimillionaire, then I might reconsider,” Yancey said.

“You mean you’d give up the business for a rich man?”

“Who said I would give up the business? Honey, I’m still young. If it was the right man and the money was right, I’d take a little vacation, drop that load, and pick up right where I left off. With a rich husband in tow, show business would be a whole lot easier.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, with the kinda money I’m talking about for my future husband, I wouldn’t have to audition for a show. I’d just have him produce it,” Yancey said confidently.

“That would be wonderful,” Nicole sighed.

“What? Having a rich husband?”

“No. Never having to audition for another show,” Nicole said.

“You got that right! But you’re pretty much at that level now. I
mean, you didn’t have to audition for this show,” Yancey said as she signed the tab for lunch.

“This was different because the producers and director wanted me and had seen my work. I’ve still got to audition for shows, workshops, but in private, usually just before a few key people. I don’t have to do any cattle calls, where every member of SAG and AFTRA are standing in line with sheet music in hand,” Nicole said. She took the linen napkin and wiped her mouth.

“I look forward to that time in my career. You ready to get those nails done?”

“Let’s do it,” Nicole said, placing the napkin on her empty plate and gracefully raising herself from the chair.

Nicole couldn’t wait.

It was Saturday, and the company’s last performance in Detroit. The cast would have a rare Sunday off, giving Nicole two nights to spend alone with Jared before traveling the hundred-plus miles for the Monday night opening in Grand Rapids.

Before leaving for the theater, Nicole packed her bags and had them transferred from the room she’d shared with Yancey to the suite where she hoped to be making mad, passionate love to her husband in a few short hours.

Jared arrived at the hotel a little after eight. The concierge had taken care of everything just as he’d requested. Two dozen peach-hued roses decorated the bedroom. Another dozen roses had been placed on the coffee table in the living area, along with fresh strawberries, smoked salmon, and thin triangles of toasted bread. A bottle of chilled champagne was nestled in a silver ice bucket on the wet bar.

Jared reached into a zippered compartment in his garment bag and pulled out a small bag that contained some of Nicole’s favorite lilac-scented candles, which he placed on either side of the bed. Jared lit
the candles and dimmed the lights to a soft, seductive glow.
Perfect
, he thought, anticipating Nicole’s reaction to the romantic atmosphere he’d created. Jared had tried to think of everything. He wanted this precious time with his wife to be special, memorable. He knew that keeping their relationship tight meant never stopping the chase.

At intermission, Nicole was surprised to find a dozen of her favorite peach roses on her dressing table, along with a box from Victoria’s Secret tied with a lavender silk ribbon. The card on the package read: “Call me at intermission. I’ve got a secret to tell you.” It was signed, “The Man in Room 906.” Nicole picked up the phone in the dressing room and called the hotel.

“Is this the man in 906?” Nicole responded to Jared’s husky, whispered “hello.” “I understand you have a secret to tell me?”

“I can only reveal the secret to the right woman,” he teased. “You’ll have to show me your credentials first.”

“My credentials? You mean like a driver’s license?”

“No,” Jared said, his voice low and sexy, “a license can be easily forged. This is what you must do. Immediately after the final curtain, come to the hotel and knock just once on the door of room 906.”

“And how will you know it’s me? How will you know I’m ‘the right woman’?”

“You must wear only the contents of the package that was delivered to you. I believe you have a black coat you can wear en route. But that’s it. Nothing more. Your credentials will be evident and then, and only then, will the secret be revealed to you.”

Jared placed the receiver back in its cradle before Nicole could respond. He had heard the breathless excitement in her voice and knew that his intended effect had been achieved. But the chase worked both ways, and Jared’s sex was as hard as marble when he stepped into the shower.

It was all Nicole could do not to rush her lines. Her performance was more seductive than usual, fueled by her secret passion. The
closing night audience was enthusiastic and showed their appreciation with not one, but three, standing ovations.